KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has released 2,463 prisoners and reduced the sentences of another 3,152 on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the group’s Supreme Court announced Saturday.
The mass release, ordered by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, was framed as a gesture of goodwill to mark the Islamic holiday. However, authorities offered no details on the identities of those released, including their gender, age, or the crimes for which they were convicted.
The precise number of people imprisoned by the Taliban since its return to power in Afghanistan remains uncertain, with authorities providing differing figures. Last year, Taliban officials reported that over 20,000 individuals, including foreign nationals, women, and minors, were being held in prisons and detention centers across the country.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has detained hundreds of individuals, including women, civil society activists, journalists, former government employees, and those critical of the regime. While some have been released after providing guarantees, many remain in custody.
Allegations of abuse inside Taliban detention centers have also been mounting. Multiple reports point to patterns of physical violence, torture, sexual assault, and other forms of mistreatment.
In a joint investigation published in November 2024 by The Guardian and Afghan news outlet Zan Times, women shared harrowing accounts of abuse inside Taliban prisons. Several described being raped, beaten, and forced to work while incarcerated. One woman said she witnessed two children being beaten to death in a detention center in Kabul.
Human rights advocates have repeatedly called for independent access to Taliban-run prisons, warning that without international scrutiny, detainees — particularly women and children — remain at serious risk of abuse.
